Baby Portobello and Spinach Whole Wheat Lasagna

Whew. I need to update this baby. Sorry for the silence, but things are busy. We've been eating a lot of sandwiches, and fake-meat tacos. Yum.

This particular lasagna recipe is great because you don't need to boil the noodles beforehand, which really cuts back on the preparation time for this dish. Feel free to substitute the veggies with cooked ground beef or Italian sausage!

Baby Portobello and Spinach Whole Wheat Lasagna

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 large bag of fresh spinach

8 oz cremini (baby portobello mushrooms), sliced

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

16 oz cottage cheese (or ricotta, fancy pants)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

26 oz pasta sauce (about 1 jar of your favorite brand)

Italian seasoning blend for garnish

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Saute the mushrooms for about 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat in a skillet, until they are deeply colored and fragrant. Transfer them to a plate, and return the skillet back to the heat.

3. Wilt the spinach in the skillet for about 3 minutes, then when dark green, transfer to a plate.

4. Spray a 9"x11" baking dish with cooking spray. Begin to build the lasagna.

5. First, coat the bottom of the baking dish with a thin layer of pasta sauce. Place three noodles, not overlapping, on the sauce. Add equal amounts of spinach and mushrooms as the next layer. Top this with dollops of the cottage cheese and about 1/2 cup of the shredded mozzarella. Coat with sauce, then continue the pattern until ingredients run out. Top the final layer with mozzarella and cottage cheese if there is any left. Be sure that the top layer of noodles are coated with pasta sauce, otherwise they will not properly cook.

6. Bake at 350F for about 35-45 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and the cheese is nice and melted.

Aloo Palak: Pureed Spinach with Potatoes

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm kind of in a cooking funk. I'll get over it soon, hopefully.

My friend, Sophie, came over recently and we tried our hand at cooking an Indian dish. The result was...okay...but not as good as something you would get in a real Indian restaurant. I didn't have cumin seeds, only cumin powder, so that might have interfered with the taste a bit. It was spicy, thanks to the peppers, but didn't have that traditional Indian flavor we were looking for. Oh well, it was worth a shot!

Aloo Palak

Adapted from Recipezaar

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 bunches spinach

1 red onion, diced

2 green chili peppers (we used jalapenos...heh...), diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large Russet potatoes, cubed

1 tsp turmeric

4 Tbs butter

1 tsp cumin powder (or seeds, if you have them)

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Procedure:

1. Cook spinach with onion, peppers and garlic until wilted and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes with the turmeric for 8-10 minutes, or until fork tender. (They turn yellow from the turmeric---cool!)

3. Puree the spinach mixture in a food processor or blender.

4. Heat the butter and the cumin in a large skillet over medium heat until the cumin is fragrant--be careful not to burn the butter!

5. Add the spinach mixture and simmer for about 5 mintues. Then add the drained potatoes, and heat for additional 2-5 minutes.

Serve with basmati rice and naan! Yum!

Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Ok, so I'm posting this a little prematurely. I haven't actually had an entire bowl of this soup yet--but I have had a little taste. And it. tastes. good. I made the soup for a Middle Eastern-themed dinner I made for a yoga group I attend. There will be soup, pitas and homemade hummus, and a special surprise for dessert!

This is a pretty hearty soup, and I think it would be delicious all year round!

Not exactly sure where I found this recipe, but kudos to the chef!

Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive or vegetable oil

1/2 onion (I used red), diced

2-3 carrots, cut into thin rounds

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones

4 cups vegetable stock (or 4 cups water and vegetable bullion cubes)

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes with juice)

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Procedure:

1. Saute onion, carrot and celery in olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and saute for about 5 more minutes. (Careful, don't inhale the pepper!)

2. Add the vegetable stock and the lentils, and bring the soup to a boil.

3. Add the chickpeas and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, or until the lentils are fork tender.

4. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste and stir thoroughly.

5. Stir in the parsley, and serve with a parsley garnish.

Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Bake

Ok, this recipe is painfully easy...and um, well painfully bland. Tony and I talked about ways to jazz it up (like using REAL cheddar cheese instead of the cheap-o brand), or adding other seasonings like cumin and chili powder.

I think that this recipe is totally customizable, and flavor can come in a variety of ways. Want a kick? Use Spanish rice and add some fresh or canned tomatoes. Want a hearty, savory dish? Add some meaty mushrooms (like baby portobellos) and use wild rice. Want to be a fancy-mc-fancy-pants? Use some foo-foo cheeses.

The possibilities are endless, my friends.

Here's the bare-bones way I cooked the dish this weekend:

Cheese Broccoli and Rice Bake

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice (I used Minute rice because I'm horrifically lazy)

1 large head broccoli, stemmed and cut into florets

1.5 cups shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

0. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

1. Cook the rice as directed on the package, and steam the broccoli for about 5 minutes in a steamer basket, or until bright green.

2. Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with cooking spray, and layer rice, broccoli and cheese, then repeat the layers.

3. Grind some pepper on top, and place in the oven for 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve this as a main dish with a big salad, or as a side dish to accompany a more traditional home style meal!